Has anyone made a solar power setup for a computer?

[Josef Lowder]

Have any of you made a solar power setup for your computer system?

I've recently begun researching this and it seems very feasible.

At one website, a writer claims one can make a solar power generator for less
than $300 -- www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html -- in summary he says:

1. Run a line out the window to an 8" x 24" panel on the roof.
Solar panels cost about $100 rated 12 volts or better at RV store or
at Greenbatteries.com. Powerfilm R15-300 Rollable Solar Panel is $98.47.
A 300 mah (approx 5 watt) solar panel comes with cable to connect to a
battery. Internal batteries of wireless electronics can be charged by
connecting a PowerFilm Rollable Solar Panel to a device's 12V adapter.

2. Get a deep cycle battery from Greenbatteries or Batteries.com for about $50.
   Or a Xantrex XPower 1500 W/60 AH battery from GoGreenSolar.com

3. Buy a 12 volt DC meter. Radio Shack has them for about $25.

4. Buy a DC input - a triple inlet model, enough to power many DC appliances
like fans, lights, laptops, etc. costs about $10. With the right cable will
run straight off the box.

5. To run AC appliances, get an inverter to convert stored DC power in the
battery to AC power for most household appliances. A 115 volt 140 watt
inverter by Power-to-Go at Pep Boys is $50.

6. Attach the meter and DC input to the top of the box.

7. Attach the meter to terminals on the battery.
Connect the solar panel to the battery.

8. Put solar panel in the sun. It takes 5-8 hours to charge a dead battery,
1-3 hours to top off a weak one. This will run many appliances for 5 hours
continuous use at 115 volt AC. Add larger panels, inverters, batteries for more.

Options: A pop-up circuit breaker between the positive terminal and volt meter.
May add an ampmeter also. Some panels have built-in bypass diodes, or use a
charge controller for panels without diodes. Another option is a
voltage regulator.